Background checks involving criminal records and credit histories are typical and even expected of many major employers responsible for children, nursing homes or public safety.

But the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company takes this concept to a new level offering an automated tool that mines social media content for troubling signs. Search filters can be customized “to reflect corporate culture,” and additional manual reviews are conducted by “social media experts.”

A display tells the human resources manager in your workplace how many “negative” hits are uncovered, placing the names of both job applicants and active employees next to red flags like “drugs/drug lingo,” “gangs,” “poor judgment” and “demonstrating potentially violent behavior.”

Social Intelligence is the latest in an ever-expanding movement by both corporations and government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, to use new communications tools for surveillance purposes. Some of the most provocative examples yet emerged only in recent weeks.

This important AlterNet article all social media users should read delves deeper into Homeland Security use of social media, which I believe will surprise most U.S. and global citizens:

Government investigators, meanwhile, will quietly friend you and more generally use social media to seek out evidence of possible security threats and spy on political organizations. New documents unearthed recently in Pennsylvania show that state homeland security officials used Twitter accounts to watch people who had not violated any laws, including elderly anti-war protesters linked to Quaker activism.

Further records turned over to EFF revealed that federal investigators were taught how they could deceptively “friend” people applying to become citizens and snoop for relationship details meeting the government’s standard of a legitimate marriage. According to one internal memo:

Narcissistic tendencies in many people fuels a need to have a large group of ‘friends’ link to their pages, and many of these people accept cyber-friends that they don’t even know. … Once a user posts online, they create a public record and timeline of their activities.

In documents made publicly available earlier this year by the Department of Homeland Security, officials described another new program for maintaining “situational awareness” that involved tracking social media sites and other online destinations.

Personnel at the department’s National Operations Center scan the Web using dozens upon dozens of key search terms and phrases, among them “militia,” “cops,” “riot,” “dirty bomb,” “Mexican army,” “decapitated,” “Iraq,” “radicals” and many more. The NOC stores and analyzes its results before determining what tips should be distributed to other government agencies and even private companies authorized to receive such information.

In brief, the documents made publicly available earlier this year by the Department of Homeland Security say:

The Department may use social media for other purposes including interacting with the public,disseminating information to the public, as well as law enforcement, intelligence, and other operations covered by applicable authorities and PIAs. For more information on these social media PIAs, visit www.dhs.gov/privacy.

What’s DHS watching online? Below is the full report on the department’s Social Media Monitoring Initiative. Click here for a .PDF of the original report on the department’s Social Media Monitoring Initiative (including a list of sites monitored and key terms searched)

Based on a recent experience I had with the United States Border Patrol, on U.S. soil, while travelling I-10 in Texas, I'd say it is safe to assume the DHS monitors and shares information from realNEO as well.

Privacy Impact Assessment for the Office of Operations Coordination and Planning, Department of Homeland Security
Publicly Available Social Media Monitoring and Situational Awareness Initiative

Abstract
The Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (OPS), National Operations Center (NOC),
will launch and lead the Publicly Available Social Media Monitoring and Situational Awareness (Initiative)
to assist the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its components involved in fulfilling OPS
statutory responsibility (Section 515 of the Homeland Security Act (6 U.S.C. § 321d(b)(1)) to provide
situational awareness and establish a common operating picture for the federal government, and for those
state, local, and tribal governments, as appropriate. The NOC and participating components1 may also
share this de-identified information with international partners and the private sector where necessary and
appropriate for coordination. While this Initiative is not designed to actively collect Personally Identifiable
Information (PII), OPS is conducting this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) because the Initiative could
potentially involve PII or other information received in an identifiable form. In the event PII comes into
the Department’s possession under this Initiative, the NOC will redact all PII prior to further dissemination
of any collected information. In the event of an in extremis situation involving potential life and death, OPS
will share certain PII with the responding authority in order for them to take the necessary actions to save a
life, such as name and location of a person calling for help buried under rubble, or hiding in a hotel room
when the hotel is under attack by terrorists.

Reference is made to previous social media event monitoring initiative PIAs conducted by OPS to
provide situational awareness and establish a common operating picture for the entire federal government,
and for state, local, and tribal governments as appropriate, and to ensure that critical disaster-related
information reaches government decision makers consistent with Section 515 of the Homeland Security Act
(6 U.S.C. § 321d(b)(1)). Those OPS PIAs include: 1) Haiti Social Media Disaster Monitoring Initiative
(January 21, 2010); 2) 2010 Winter Olympics Social Media Event Monitoring Initiative (February 10,
2010); and 3) April 2010 BP Oil Spill Response Social Media Event Monitoring Initiative (April 29, 2010).
For more information on these OPS PIAs, visit www.dhs.gov/privacy. Going forward, individual PIAs on
social media monitoring will not be issued, instead, they will be covered by this overarching PIA.

This PIA will be reviewed every six months to ensure compliance. This will be done in
conjunction with a Privacy Office-led Privacy Compliance Review of the Initiative and of OPS social media
monitoring Internet-based platforms and information technology infrastructure.
Overview

Federal law requires the NOC to provide situational awareness and establish a common operating
picture for the entire federal government, and for state, local, and tribal governments as appropriate, and to
ensure that critical disaster-related information reaches government decision makers. See Section 515 of the
Homeland Security Act (6 U.S.C. § 321d(b)(1)). The law defines the term “situational awareness” as
“information gathered from a variety of sources that, when communicated to emergency managers and
decision makers, can form the basis for incident management decision-making.” OPS is launching and
leading this Initiative to fulfill its legal mandate to provide situational awareness and establish a common
operating picture. In doing so, OPS is working with select components within the Department to achieve

OPS is working with select components within the Department to provide situational awareness and
establish a common operating picture for the federal government, and for state, local, and tribal
governments as appropriate, and to ensure that critical disaster-related information reaches government
decision makers consistent with Section 515 of the Homeland Security Act (6 U.S.C. § 321d(b)(1)).
this statutory mandate.

The NOC will use Internet-based platforms that provide a variety of ways to follow activity related
to monitoring publicly available online forums, blogs, public websites, and message boards. Through the
use of publicly available search engines and content aggregators2 the NOC will monitor activities on the
social media sites listed in Appendix A for information that the NOC can use to provide situational
awareness and establish a common operating picture. Appendix A is a current list of sites that the NOC will
use as a starting point under this Initiative. Initial sites listed may link to other sites not listed. The NOC
may also monitor those sites if they are within the scope of this Initiative. The NOC will gather, store,
analyze, and disseminate relevant and appropriate de-identified information to federal, state, local, and
foreign governments, and private sector partners authorized to receive situational awareness and a common
operating picture. Under this initiative, OPS will not: 1) actively seek personally identifiable information
(PII); 2) post any information; 3) actively seek to connect with other internal/external personal users; 4)
accept other internal/external personal users’ invitations to connect; or 5) interact on social media sites.
However, OPS is permitted to establish user names and passwords to form profiles and follow relevant
government, media, and subject matter experts on social media sites listed in Appendix A in order to use
search tools under established criteria and search terms such as those listed in Appendix B for monitoring
that supports providing situational awareness and establishing a common operating picture.

The NOC will identify and monitor only information needed to provide situational awareness and
establish a common operating picture. The NOC will use this information to fulfill the statutory mandate
set forth above to include the sharing of information with foreign governments and the private sector as
otherwise authorized by law.

The Department may use social media for other purposes including interacting with the public,
disseminating information to the public, as well as law enforcement, intelligence, and other operations
covered by applicable authorities and PIAs. For more information on these social media PIAs, visitwww.dhs.gov/privacy.

Section 1.0 Characterization of the Information

The following questions are intended to define the scope of the information requested and/or
collected as well as reasons for its collection as part of the program, system, rule, or technology being
developed.

1.1 What information is collected, used, disseminated, or
maintained in the system?

Third-party service providers offer an array of applications that provide social media services along
with publicly-available online forums, blogs, public websites, and message boards. See Appendix A for a
current list of the types of sites that may be viewed for information. See Appendix B for current search
terms used under this Initiative. The NOC will review information posted by individual account users on
third-party social media websites of activities and events necessary to provide situational awareness and
establish a common operating picture. The NOC will access these web-based platforms to identify content
posted by public users for the purpose of providing situational awareness and establishing a common
operating picture. The NOC will assess information identified to assist decision-makers.

The NOC shall not actively collect data on the individuals posting information to third-party service
providers, about individual users, or PII. Should PII come into the NOC’s possession, the NOC shall redact
it prior to further dissemination of any collected information. In the event of an in extremis situation
involving potential life and death, DHS will share certain PII with the responding authority in order for
them to take the necessary actions to save a life, such as name and location of a person calling for help
buried under rubble, or hiding in a hotel room when the hotel is under attack by terrorists.

1.2 What are the sources of the information in the system?

Members of the public as well as first responders, press, volunteers, and others provide publicly
available information on social medial sites including online forums, blogs, public websites, and message
boards. OPS is permitted to establish user names and passwords to form profiles on social media sites listed
in Appendix A and to use search tools under established criteria and search terms such as those listed in
Appendix B for monitoring that supports providing situational awareness and establishing a common
operating picture.

1.3 Why is the information being collected, used,
disseminated, or maintained?

The NOC will identify, use, disseminate, and maintain this information to comply with its
statutory mandate to provide situational awareness and establish a common operating picture for the entire
federal government, and for state, local, and tribal governments as appropriate and to ensure that this
information reaches government decision makers. The aggregation of data published via social media sites
should make it possible for the NOC to provide more accurate situational awareness, a more complete
common operating picture, and more timely information for decision makers.

1.4 How is the information collected?

The NOC will identify information directly from third-party social media services. The NOC will
access and collect information from various informational streams and postings that the NOC, as well as the
broader public, view and monitor. See Appendix A for a list of the types of sites that may be viewed for
information. See Appendix B for the types of search terms used in social media monitoring.

1.5 How will the information be checked for accuracy?

The NOC will identify information from third-party social media services submitted voluntarily by
members of the public and compares that information with information available in open source reporting
and through a variety of public and government sources. By bringing together and comparing many
different sources of information, the NOC will attempt to provide a more accurate picture of
contemporaneous activities.

Congress requires the NOC “to provide situational awareness and establish a common operating
picture for the entire federal government and for state, local, and tribal governments as appropriate, in the
event of a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other manmade disaster; and ensure that critical terrorism
and disaster-related information reaches government decision-makers.” Section 515 of the Homeland
Security Act (6 U.S.C. § 321d(b)(1)). While the NOC may receive PII, PII is not actively collected and is
not retrieved by personal identifier so a Privacy Act System of Records Notice is not required.

1.7 Privacy Impact Analysis: Given the amount and type of data
collected, discuss the privacy risks identified and how they were
mitigated.

There is a risk that the NOC will receive PII or other identifiable information that is not relevant to
this Initiative. The NOC has a clear policy in place that any PII incidentally received will be redacted
immediately. Also, under this initiative OPS will not: 1) actively seek PII; 2) post any information; 3)
actively seek to connect with other internal/external personal users; 4) accept other internal/external
personal users’ invitations to connect; and 5) interact on social media sites. Information collected to
provide situational awareness and establish a common operating picture originates from publicly available
social media sites and is available to the public.

Section 2.0 Uses of the Information

The following questions are intended to delineate clearly the use of information and the accuracy
of the data being used.

2.1 Describe all the uses of information.

The NOC will use Internet-based platforms that provide a variety of ways to follow activities by
monitoring publicly available online forums, blogs, public websites, and message boards. Through the use
of publicly available search engines and content aggregators, the NOC will continuously monitor activities
on social media sites, such as those listed in Appendix A, using search terms, such as those listed in
Appendix B, for information. The NOC will gather, store, analyze, and disseminate relevant and
appropriate information to federal, state, local, and foreign governments, and private sector partners
requiring and authorized to receive situational awareness and a common operating picture.

2.2 What types of tools are used to analyze data and what type
of data may be produced?

NOC analysts will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating information provided on social
media sites and will use tools offered by third-party social media sites to aid them in this overall effort. The
final analysis will be used to provide situational awareness and establish a common operating picture.

2.3 If the system uses commercial or publicly available data
please explain why and how it is used.

Publicly available, user-generated data can be useful to decision-makers as it provides “on-the-
ground” information to help corroborate information received through official sources.

2.4 Privacy Impact Analysis: Describe any types of controls that
may be in place to ensure that information is handled in accordance
with the above described uses.

The risk is that PII will be sent to the NOC unintentionally. This has been mitigated by the clear
policy that any PII inadvertently collected shall be redacted immediately before further use and sharing.
The Department is providing notice of all uses of information under this Initiative through this PIA. the
NOC will not actively collect or use any PII.

Section 3.0 Retention

The following questions are intended to outline how long information will be retained after the
initial collection.

3.1 What information is retained?

The NOC will retain only user-generated information posted to publicly available online social
media sites. Information posted in the public sphere that the Department uses to provide situational
awareness or establish a common operating picture becomes a federal record and the Department is
required to maintain a copy. However, the Department is working with the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) on a retention schedule to immediately delete PII, upon the approval of this
schedule by NARA, as well as to maintain records necessary for further use by the Department.

3.2 How long is information retained?

The NOC will retain information only long enough to provide situational awareness and establish a
common operating picture. Information posted in the public sphere that the Department uses to provide
situational awareness or establish a common operating picture becomes a federal record and the
Department is required to maintain a copy. The Department is working with NARA on a retention
schedule to immediately delete PII, upon the approval of this schedule by NARA, as well as to maintain
records necessary for further use by the Department.

3.3 Has the retention schedule been approved by the component
records officer and the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA)?

The Office of Records Management is working with NARA to establish an approved retention and
disposal policy.

3.4 Privacy Impact Analysis: Please discuss the risks associated
with the length of time data is retained and how those risks are
mitigated.

The risk associated with retention of information is that PII will be retained when it is not
necessary and that the information will be kept longer than is necessary. The NOC has mitigated this risk
by redacting PII it inadvertently collects and is working with NARA on a retention schedule to immediately
delete PII, upon the approval of this schedule by NARA, as well as to maintain records necessary for further
use by the Department.

Section 4.0 Internal Sharing and Disclosure

The following questions are intended to define the scope of sharing within the Department of
Homeland Security.

4.1 With which internal organization(s) is the information shared,
what information is shared and for what purpose?

Information will be shared within the NOC and with government leadership who have a need to
know. The NOC is sharing this information for the statutorily mandated purpose of providing situational
awareness and establishing a common operating picture.

4.2 How is the information transmitted or disclosed?

Information will be transmitted via email and telephone and by other electronic and paper means
within the NOC and to government leadership where necessary and appropriate. PII will not actively be
collected, but if pushed to the NOC, it will be redacted by the NOC before information is shared. The
remaining data is analyzed and prepared for reporting.

4.3 Privacy Impact Analysis: Considering the extent of internal
information sharing, discuss the privacy risks associated with the
sharing and how they were mitigated.

The risk associated with sharing this information is that PII will be inadvertently collected and
shared. The NOC has mitigated this risk by establishing effective policies to avoid collection of PII and to
redact it if collected inadvertently. The NOC will only monitor publicly accessible sites where users post
information voluntarily.

Section 5.0 External Sharing and Disclosure

The following questions are intended to define the content, scope, and authority for information
sharing external to DHS which includes federal, state and local government, and the private sector.

5.1 With which external organization(s) is the information
shared, what information is shared, and for what purpose?

The NOC will use this Initiative to fulfill its statutory responsibility to provide situational awareness
and establish a common operating picture for the entire federal government, and for state, local, and tribal
governments as appropriate, and to ensure that critical disaster-related information reaches government
decision makers. Information may also be shared with private sector and international partners where
necessary, appropriate, and authorized by law.

5.2 Is the sharing of personally identifiable information outside
the Department compatible with the original collection? If so, is it
covered by an appropriate routine use in a SORN? If so, please
describe. If not, please describe under what legal mechanism the
program or system is allowed to share the personally identifiable
information outside of DHS.

PII will not actively be collected. However, if pushed to the NOC, the PII will be redacted.
Information is only collected to provide situational awareness and to establish a common operating picture.

5.3 How is the information shared outside the Department and
what security measures safeguard its transmission?

Information will be shared by phone, email, and other paper and electronic means.

5.4 Privacy Impact Analysis: Given the external sharing, explain
the privacy risks identified and describe how they were mitigated.

External sharing risks are minimal as the Initiative will not share PII; only information collected to
provide situational awareness and to establish a common operating picture is shared.

Section 6.0 Notice

The following questions are directed at notice to the individual of the scope of information
collected, the right to consent to uses of said information, and the right to decline to provide information.

6.1 Was notice provided to the individual prior to collection of
information?

The Department may publicize its use of social media. The NOC does not, however, provide
notice to specific public users who voluntarily provide user-generated information on publicly accessible
social media sites. The NOC may retrieve public information from the social media sites, but will not
interact with individual personal users.

6.2 Do individuals have the opportunity and/or right to decline to
provide information?

Information posted to social media websites is publicly accessible and voluntarily generated. Thus,
the opportunity not to provide information exists prior to the informational post by the user.

6.3 Do individuals have the right to consent to particular uses of
the information? If so, how does the individual exercise the right?

Individuals voluntarily post information on social media sites and have the ability to restrict access
to their posts as they see fit. Any information posted publicly can be used by the NOC in providing
situational awareness and establishing a common operating picture.

6.4 Privacy Impact Analysis: Describe how notice is provided to
individuals, and how the risks associated with individuals being
unaware of the collection are mitigated.

There is no requirement to provide notice to individuals under the framework applied under this
Initiative. Information posted to social media approved for monitoring under this Initiative is publicly
accessible and voluntarily generated.

Section 7.0 Access, Redress and Correction

The following questions are directed at an individual’s ability to ensure the accuracy of the
information collected about them.

7.1 What are the procedures that allow individuals to gain
access to their information?

Social media are public websites. All users have access to their own information through their user
accounts. Individuals should consult the privacy policies of the services they subscribe to for more
information.

7.2 What are the procedures for correcting inaccurate or
erroneous information?

Users may accidentally or purposefully generate inaccurate or erroneous information. There is no
mechanism for correcting this. However, the community is largely self-governing and erroneous
information is normally expunged or debated rather quickly by others within the community with more
accurate and/or truthful information.

7.3 How are individuals notified of the procedures for correcting
their information?

There is no specified procedure for correcting information to DHS; if there was, it relates to a social
media- provided process and not a DHS process. Individuals may change their PII on the sites as well as the
accessibility of their content posts at any time they wish through their user account management tools on
social media sites.

7.4 If no formal redress is provided, what alternatives are
available to the individual?

There is no specified procedure for correcting information to DHS; if there was, it relates to a
social media-provided process and not a DHS process. Individuals may change their PII as well as the
accessibility of their content posts at any time they wish through their user account management tools on
the social media sites. Individuals should consult the privacy policies of the services to which they
subscribe for more information.

7.5 Privacy Impact Analysis: Please discuss the privacy risks
associated with the redress available to individuals and how those
risks are mitigated.

The information available on social networking websites is largely user-generated, which means
that the individual chooses the amount of information available about himself/herself as well as the ease
with which it can be accessed by other users. Thus, the primary account holder should be able to redress
any concerns through the third-party social media service. Individuals should consult the privacy policies
of the services they subscribe to for more information.

Section 8.0 Technical Access and Security

The following questions are intended to describe technical safeguards and security measures.

8.1 What procedures are in place to determine which users may
access the system and are they documented?

No procedures are in place. Social media sites are publicly available, third-party services.

8.2 Will Department contractors have access to the system?

Yes, as it is required in the performance of their contractual duties at DHS.

8.3 Describe what privacy training is provided to users either
generally or specifically relevant to the program or system?

All DHS employees and contractors are required to take annual privacy training.

8.4 Has Certification & Accreditation been completed for the
system or systems supporting the program?

No. Social media sites are publicly available, third-party services.

8.5 What auditing measures and technical safeguards are in
place to prevent misuse of data?

This PIA will be reviewed every six months to ensure compliance. This will be done in
conjunction with a Privacy Office-led Privacy Compliance Review of the Initiative and of OPS social media
monitoring internet based platforms and information technology infrastructure.

8.6 Privacy Impact Analysis: Given the sensitivity and scope of
the information collected, as well as any information sharing
conducted on the system, what privacy risks were identified and how
do the security controls mitigate them?

These social media sites are publicly available, third-party services. Information is collected by the
service itself to establish an account. Thereafter, users determine their level of involvement and decide how
“visible” they wish their presence on any given service to be. The ability to choose how much information
to disclose, as well as the short period of retention for any information collected by the NOC serves to
mitigate any privacy risk.

Section 9.0 Technology

The following questions are directed at critically analyzing the selection process for any
technologies utilized by the system, including system hardware, RFID, biometrics and other technology.

9.1 What type of project is the program or system?

Third-parties control and operate social media services. Users should consult with representatives
of the service provider in order to make themselves aware of technologies utilized by the system.

9.2 What stage of development is the system in and what project
development lifecycle was used?

Social media is active at all times and is third-party owned and operated.

9.3 Does the project employ technology which may raise privacy
concerns? If so please discuss their implementation.

Individuals should consult the privacy policies of the services they subscribe to for more
information.